They’re the kings of New York City!
The Knicks were heralded as royalty Thursday in what is estimated to be the largest ticker tape parade — and biggest party — in Big Apple history, with ravenous fans arriving hours ahead of the event to catch a glimpse of the champions.
An estimated 2 million fans flooded lower Manhattan for the blockbuster event, forming a sea of orange and blue that extended blocks beyond the Canyon of Heroes and swelled with unadulterated joy.
“This is Knick City! This is basketball town,” said Al James, of Staten Island, who took the day off from the MTA to participate.
“I never felt the energy like this. I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
The exuberant vibes and a ceremony to give the team the ceremonial keys were the icing on the cake after a historic playoff run that saw the Knicks go 16-3 and rattle off 13 wins in a row.
The team finished off their epic Finals run by polishing off the San Antonio Spurs and NBA golden boy Victor Wembanyama in 5 games, in heated battles that saw Wemby become the most hated man in New York because of his roughhouse play — and the Knicks come out on top in a Game 4 showdown that saw them erase a 29-point deficit.
The championship turned even cynical New Yorkers giddy and transformed the five boroughs into party central during and after games, with the parade and ceremony Thursday serving as a primal catharsis for a title-starved fanbase that went 53 years without an NBA title.
Jersey-wearing fans started showing up along the parade route not long after midnight in hopes of securing the very limited spots along the parade route.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani teased that the ticker tape parade could be the biggest in Big Apple history days before, saying 1 million could attend — although turnout was at least double that.
Sean Dolan, 28, of Jersey City, planted himself in the area at 2 a.m., telling The Post the party was “like Christmas.”
“It’s one of the biggest moments of my life, honestly. Just being able to see the team you’ve been rooting for your whole life win, being able to come and celebrate it with those millions and millions Knicks fans that are going to be here today, it’s an insane feeling,” Dolan said.
Gabriel Walcott, 18, woke up at 3 a.m. to race to the event from Ronkomkoma with a Brunson, egg and cheese in hand, saying he was “willing to do anything” to be a part of the action.
Many also flocked from other states for the occasion, including Azaa and Bobby Thorpe, who had the 10-hour drive from North Carolina.
“This means the world to me,” said Azaa, 70, with Bobby, 67, adding, “The team won the game but they won it for everybody out here today. I was saying thank God. They finally did it.”
The crowds were so intense that many people were turned away from the access points by 7:30 a.m. — less than an hour after fans were allowed to start filing inside the parade area.
The subways were also so overwhelmed with fans that it took some passengers around 30 minutes to crawl from the platforms onto the street.
The NYPD and organizers had double-barricaded the parade area in anticipation of the chaos, but the metal gates were no match for the ravenous Knicks fans.
Hundreds brazenly broke through and hopped the barricades and sprinted past officers in a desperate attempt to catch a glimpse of their heroes parading through lower Manhattan.
Dozens of others perched atop scaffolding, subway entrances, street signs and the sides of buildings.
Those who couldn’t squeeze into the packed parade areas instead flooded into nearby bars, where they followed the floats pass by on the television.
“It’s nothing but pure joy out here. This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” said Kendall, who arrived at 6:30 a.m. but was turned away from the parade.
“Today, it doesn’t matter where you’re from, what your politics are. Today, we’re all New Yorkers,” the West Villager said.
The ticker tape parade concluded at City Hall, where the champions were presented with keys to the City of New York.
The players are the first to be bestowed the Mamdani-era commemorative keys, which feature an apple and leaf motif instead of the traditional seal of New York City.
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“For as long as we live and you remember this feeling of a city together, a city alive, a city overcome by happiness,” Hizzoner said at the ceremony.
“This is our city. This is our team. For 53 years we watched, for 53 years we waited. Now we’ve won.”
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